Audiofanzine put the Waldorf Streichfett digital synthesizer to the test. Released earlier this year, the small box is designed to replicate the sound of vintage string machines.
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Just How Good Is the Geo Synthesizer?

I don’t know about you, but I have found that it can be difficult to perfect a fluid sound for some specific ambient compositions. Sharp or crisp tones are often easily added into any musical number, but these sames sounds become almost glitchy when you modify them in a way that helps to make them come slide together.

The result is an awkward, almost unpleasant sound because the quality of the sound during the transition just isn’t there.

With the Geo Synthesizer, however, you’ll find that these liquid sounds are incredibly easy to create.

An Affordable App That Will Create Lots of Expressive Sounds

Based on the technology that brought you a playable piano on a multi-function touch screen, the Geo Synthesizer takes the concept of sound by touch to a whole different level. Start by adding basic notes into the sound. From there, you can add octaves, fifths, and other harmonics to create rich sounds straight from the iPad.

It’s also got a full set of controls you’d expect to see from a synth so you can create multiple layers of sound:

attack and release controls,

square, sine, and sawtooth wave options,

customizable wave options, and

the ability to load your own waveforms into the app.

At just $9.99, you won’t be able to find a better synth app that can create such a multitude of sounds in a dynamically fluid way. It just isn’t possible.

Here’s the One Down Side to the Geo Synthesizer

Although the sounds are incredibly dynamic, the issue that this app has is the touch interface. As you’re running your fingers over the notes you want to create, you get the inevitable tapping sound accompanying the sounds you’re creating. Imagine creating a great synth sound, but also recording the sound of someone typing on a keyboard at the same time. That makes the Geo Synthesizer less of a synth tool and more of an educational exercise.

That doesn’t mean that the Geo Synthesizer doesn’t have value. For just ten bucks, you get an effective way to begin learning how to manipulate sounds. You can discover what waveform manipulations can do to new sounds, experiment with harmonics, and add different depths to your sounds so that when you get onto an instrument, you won’t waste time building circuits that are inherently useless. That’s where the true value of the Geo Synthesizer lies.

It’s Perfect For the iPhone!

You could be playing games on your iPhone or taking pictures to upload to Instagram… or you could be working out new synth sounds on your iPhone when you’ve got a few moments of peace and quiet. Which would you rather be doing? With the Geo Synthesizer, you get a realistic sound in a reasonably priced app that will help you create fluid, amazing sounds with just your fingertips. You’ve got to try it for yourself today!

Cocky Eek’s Tactile Research Lab has created an art-installation-meets-musical-instrument-meets-organic-weirdness. Called the “Get in Touch” exhibit, it invites the public to create sounds by touching the backs of nude people in an effort to help …